Drivers of circular economy for small and medium enterprises: Case study on the Indian state of Tamil Nadu

The present paper highlights the growing relevance of the Circular Economy (CE), its adoption by Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), and the relationship between the drivers of CE. Using a case study of CE adoption by Tamil Nadu state in India, we analyse the interactions between the drivers and examine the challenges and benefits of CE adoption. Using Total Interpretive Structural Modelling (TISM) this paper identifies 10 main drivers relevant for SMEs in Tamil Nadu based on literature and discussions with 78 industrial-academic experts, comments on the driving, dependent and linking elements that impact the uptake and adoption of CE. The modelling results confirm that three drivers, namely urbanisation, funding availability and resource consumption, are relevant and support the successful adoption of CE. The paper is among the first that uses the TISM technique to establish a contextual linkage between CE drivers and relationship between the different drivers.